Program Development and Evaluation Specialist In Office Senior Director, Community Programs and Strategies Canadian Mental Health Association
- Edmonton Region (CMHA Edmonton) is a community-based organization dedicated to strengthening mental health and wellbeing for all. Guided by its mission to advance a coordinated and effective system of community mental health and suicide prevention programs and services, CMHA Edmonton delivers a broad range of supports, including crisis response, navigation services, housing services, peer and family programs, and community-based initiatives. The organization is committed to person-centered service delivery, collaboration, lived-experience leadership, and continuous improvement in the support of meaningful and lasting community impact. CMHA Edmonton's Community Programs and Strategies area offers community mental health programs grounded in lived experience. The Community Programs and Strategies team, which includes many peers (people with lived experience), co-designs and co-facilitates community outreach, lived experience engagement, and recovery-oriented education and services that support mental health, housing stability, and social inclusion. The Community Programs and Strategies team also co-develops creative community-based research, system-change initiatives, and peer-led evaluation through strong partnerships to improve outcomes for individuals and communities across Edmonton. The Program Development and Evaluation Specialist plays a central role in strengthening CMHA Edmonton's community mental health impact by supporting program planning and quality improvement and by leading evaluation, applied research, and knowledge mobilization across the organization.



Approximately 60% of this role’s work will focus on advancing peer-led evaluation and planning for two key strategic programs – Peer Support Services and Peer College. The remaining 40% of work will be to support the development and implementation of a phased, organization-wide evaluation framework. The role also provides leadership in peer-led research and evaluation, knowledge sharing, and system-wide learning, helping position CMHA Edmonton as a backbone organization within Edmonton’s community mental health system. This role contributes to grant writing, reporting, and strategic communications to support sustainability, scaling, and sector influence. Provide coaching and practice leadership on evaluation, data use, and evidence-informed decision-making. Support mixed-methods research, including storytelling, participant insights, and community-based evidence generation. Establish and maintain partnerships with academic institutions and evaluation consultants. Lead development of technical reports, evaluation products, and contributions to academic publications. Co-create a body of applied research on peer support, recovery, system navigation, and community mental health. Ensure ethical, accessible, and community-grounded research practices. Program Planning and Development Support program managers in designing, refining, and scaling community-based mental health programs. Support quality improvement for existing programs and the development of new initiatives, pilots,



and system innovations informed by evidence and community need. Design and implement a knowledge sharing framework, including in-person, digital, and community-based formats. Support presentation of findings to stakeholders including community groups, partners, and funders. Support development of materials for dissemination through reports back to stakeholders, public-facing and media communications, and sector engagement to share program learning widely. Translate findings into plain-language reports, briefs, and presentations. Contribute data to grant writing, proposals, and funder reporting. Lead the implementation of a peer-led research and evaluation model, engaging people with lived experience in design, data collection, analysis, and storytelling to improve programs and elevate lived experience. Support program leaders internally and externally in building capacity to use peer-led research and evaluation approaches. Master's degree in evaluation, social sciences, implementation science, public policy, public health, community development, or a related field; Minimum three years of experience in program development, evaluation, applied research, quality improvement, or implementation within community mental health, health, social services, or the non-profit sector. Demonstrated experience designing and conducting qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods evaluations, including development of outcomes, indicators, data collection tools, and evaluation frameworks. Experience with participatory, community-based, or peer-led research and evaluation approaches that meaningfully engage people with lived and living experience. Strong knowledge of program planning, theory of chang

📌 Program Development and Evaluation Specialist (Canada)
🏢 CMHA Edmonton (Canadian Mental Health Association - Edmonton)
📍 Canada